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A survey by People for Education has found major gaps in the delivery of before- and after-school programs for young students — despite this being a key part of the province’s full-day kindergarten plan.

A survey by People for Education found that at 77 per cent of Ontario schools where family incomes are high, before- and after-school care is available, compared with 52 per cent of schools with low family incomes. (Aaron Harris / file photo for the Toronto Star)

Schools with full-day kindergarten are no more likely to offer before- and after-school child care than those that don’t have it, despite it being a key part of the original plan for Ontario’s youngest students, says a new report by People for Education.

And schools that do have after-hours care are more likely to be in affluent neighbourhoods, the advocacy group found in its annual survey.

“What we are seeing is that the implementation of the stuff around full-day kindergarten has been a problem from the beginning,” said executive director Annie Kidder.

“Initially, the idea was to have extended, seamless day programs. Schools would offer the child care and it would be available to everybody … It’s still a struggle for schools in terms of offering it, but it is also a problem because of the cost.”

People for Education, in its survey of principals at 1,349 schools across the province, found that at 77 per cent of schools where family incomes are high, before- and after-school care is available, compared with 52 per cent of schools with low family incomes.

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The cost for the care runs roughly $100 to $150 a week.

“Even principals say that it’s often too expensive, and that’s their worry,” added Kidder. “It’s worrying in that it isn’t there in all schools, and more worrying that you can see the relationship between family income and whether or not it is available.”

Parents in more affluent neighbourhoods are also typically more active in pushing schools to offer care, said Andrea Calver of the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care.

“I believe that organizing months before you ever have the program is what makes the more affluent schools far more likely to have the extended day,” she said.

Schools put out surveys early in the year and need at least 20 families to express interest. Most schools rely on outside child-care operators.

“Some of the notices that are put out with the survey are opaque on what the costs will be,” she added. “In low-income communities, far fewer parents will commit to put their kids in a program if they don’t know for sure it’s going to happen, or know for sure how much it’s going to cost.”

The People for Education survey also found that while the average full-day class has 24 children, 8 per cent have 30 or more.

“There are definitely challenges, but overall, the evidence is so strong about having the high-quality care that we really need to keep working on that piece,” she added.

A recent analysis also found that child-care spaces in general across the country are not keeping up with a recent baby boom, with spaces for just 22.5 per cent of children up to age 5, a negligible change since 2010.

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